Gentle Pruning.

I had the wind knocked out of my sails earlier today. Sometimes communication is a blessing and sometimes... it's not. My spirits were low, Nat is sick, and Paul had a potty training disaster (think walls smeared brown). But as we started our service, the first song I glanced at was an immediate comfort:

In times like these you need a Saviour,

In times like these you need an anchor;

Be very sure, Be very sure,

Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

This Rock is Jesus, Yes, He's the One,

This Rock is Jesus, The only One;

Be very sure, Be very sure,

Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock.

As if that wasn't enough, the next song prodded a little further:

All for Jesus! All for Jesus!

All my being's ransomed pow'rs.

All my tho'ts and words and doings,

All my days and all my hours.

All for Jesus! All for Jesus! 

All my days and all my hours.

All for Jesus! All for Jesus! 

All my days and all my hours.

Let my hands perform His bidding,

Let my feet run in His ways;

Let my eyes see Jesus only,

Let my lips speak forth His praise.

All for Jesus! All for Jesus!

Let my lips speak forth His praise.

And then as only the Lord can do, the message we listened to was spot on and just what I needed to hear. I love how God is intentional about meeting my specific needs. I don't necessarily enjoy going through some discomfort, but I know it's for my good and for His Glory. I'm grateful to say the Lord brought me out of a slump, reminded me of the grace that has been bestowed on me, and encouraged me to step back in the fight. Praise the Lord for His Gentle pruning.

Choosing Gratefulness.

My son set a record today: *no* nap at all and he was awake for 11.5 hours straight. He's been having trouble napping (at home) for the last few weeks and I thought it was because his aunt was sharing a room with him. Well it's been three days since Auntie left and still no naps. So I set really low expectations since I've being flying solo for the last two days. I was quite impressed I actually got a shower in, Bible read, and laundry started before the kids woke up this morning. I think that's because Ellie was only up twice during the night. :)

I didn't have grand plans for the day; I even told Nat I would be doing great if I just got both kids fed and changed! Paul has been extremely clingy since Ellie was born, so I expected my day to be very kid-centered, which it was. I did manage to take the laundry off the line and I even found a small window of ten minutes to work on Thai.

So now I'm sitting in the quiet of my living room wondering why I'm disappointed with myself after all. Between nursing a newborn and taking care of Paul, my day went as I thought it would and yet I still think I should've gotten way more accomplished.

The days *are* long but the years are short. This day is done and I can't relive it. Instead I'm grateful for time to spend with Paul. I'm grateful for a newborn who is a good sleeper and on a consistent eating schedule. I'm grateful I can stay home with my babies, freeing up my husband to make a trip and oversee some literature getting into the hands of those who can use it for God's glory. I'm very grateful it didn't rain today and knock out the power for two hours like it did last night. I'm grateful I could get by with salads for lunch and dinner. ;-) I'm grateful for snuggle times with my little girl and being able to sit down with Paul and watch a DVD. I'm grateful to hear my son's squeals of delight as he plays with the dog we're watching.

So with that perspective, I did get a lot accomplished today after all! I spent time with my two children and they will never be this small again. And even though the rest of the world didn't see me today, my little world did... and I'm content with that.

Lessons Learned.

This week we had a situation arise that was a test of culture and humility. As we interacted with a Thai person on the behalf of another Thai person (cultural norm), the answer we were given wasn't quite satisfactorily to our minds. Nevertheless we saw an opportunity before us to respond with meekness and leave the situation in God's hands. "Lord, we're willing to do ___________ because relationships are much more important than _____________." So imagine our surprise two days later when things worked out exactly the way we were praying for them to work out! A true miracle, in our minds, and one where the Lord gets all the praise.

The second situation was a personal one for me. I've been struggling with learning the Thai language and while I could launch into five good reasons as to why I'm struggling, I'll just leave it at I was very close to throwing in the towel this week. Wednesday in particular. My husband and I were talking about it Wednesday morning and I was laying out everything with such raw honesty. I'm grateful my husband is always sympathetic and understanding, but doesn't think and respond with his emotions. :-) He encouraged me to go to school that day and had a lot of logic behind his explanation. As I anticipated, school was.... rough that day, to say the least! That night, we were catching up on some messages from our home church, specifically from the New Year's Eve service. A group of four men preached that night with our church's assistant to the pastor preaching last. He mentioned that he had one message planned, but God directed him another way about 15 minutes before the service. :-)

If for no one else, I am very glad he was obedient to God's direction. He preached on how I am a new creature in Christ and how I really don't have any excuse not to do _________. Well I didn't need to go too far back in my day to think about what I could apply the message to! That message was motivation the rest of the week to press forward in my studies. Have my circumstances changed? Not really. I still have those five really good reasons to throw in the towel, but now I also have one that trumps them all: I am a new creature in Christ and I can get victory through Him. But I will admit I'm glad for the weekend so I can re-group and get prepared for Monday's class. :-)

Grace.

And so it begins. Our marathon, that is! The next three days are jam-packed with special events, saying "see ya later" to dear people we love, and walking away from our first home. You'll have to forgive me for being sentimental; it is somewhat warranted for where we're at right now. 

We leave for Thailand on Tuesday and I am beyond excited that this day has finally arrived. We've had plenty of starts and stops to this journey but I know the Lord has been faithfully leading us through it all. 

I think about my dad passing away 6 months ago and how God in his mercy allowed us to still be in the States to grieve with family. I also think about all the travels of the last year or so and I realize we got to see tons of people that we usually don't see. Our travels have taken us from Maine to Alaska, with everything in-between and we wore out a path down to Texas - to the point that things in a state hundred of miles away began to look familiar. :-)

We've always enjoyed coming home and my heart does an extra beat whenever i type "home" into our GPS. Funny how the miles seem to fly by when we're heading that way! I often say to my husband that my favorite street in the world is the street that leads us to our street. :)

The hardest part in the midst of all of "the lasts" and the packing has been packing up my house - completely. We've left it before for months on end but we've always returned. I still have some kitchen items to pack away, and those carry-ones still aren't packed, but we're getting there. Back in the summer I began to get serious about the whole "everything's gotta go" deal and so I took the first picture off the wall. I think removing that first picture hurt deeper than all the subsequent events because it was so final. Nat came home from work that day to a pile of bubble-wrapped pictures and a tearful wife. Thankfully God's grace is sufficient and He gives strength day by day.

So here I sit at the beginning of probably one of the the most busy and emotional weekends of my life, and I contemplate that thought. God's grace is sufficient. Friday I took my son and spent the day with my mom and my sister, primarily to get out of my husband's hair so he could have the concentration to finish up some important details. My husband didn't ask me to leave (and he never would!), but I know how loud my son can get and figured this was one way to bless my husband. Of all mornings, Paul was up early, and I do mean early! God's grace is sufficient no matter what's going on, even as I tried to rock my son back to sleep. Throughout the day, Paul exhibited lots of signs of tiredness, so I assured my mom and my sister that he would definitely fall asleep in the car. I'm not sure if it was the excitement of seeing so many people throughout the day or if it was because I was using his old car seat, but Paul would not take a nap, aside from a short 20 minute nap in the morning. 6 hours later, I was very close to tears and frustrations. But then the reminder came. God's grace is sufficient. Totally. 

I'm happy to report Paul did fall asleep as we were heading over to someone's house in the evening, in his new car seat mind you! And God's grace was sufficient for me the whole day... I just needed a reminder. :-) I am very excited and unbelievably sad all rolled into one this weekend. Such a bittersweet time. But the one truth I'm clinging to this weekend is God's grace is sufficient... for me. 

Closure.

This past week has been so incredibly long, but God has given such strength every single day.  I'm weak, and He is strong. It's as simple as that.

I wanted to share what I said at my dad's funeral on Saturday. I'm really glad I wrote most of it down...

My name is Anne and I'm Bob and Shirley's youngest child. Last night I heard wonderful stories about my dad and felt as if I heard his life story as people shared how my dad influenced them.

I too have a story to share. About eight weeks ago, my husband and I went over to my parents house and talked with my dad for about three hours. We wanted to resolve a conflict in our relationship with Dad and challenge him about his relationship with God. We had a good talk about how salvation is found in Christ alone. After talking about the need for a restored relationship with God, my dad and I were able to address the need of forgiveness in our relationship.

I'm so grateful I took that opportunity to be reconciled with my dad. Last night was an amazing time to hear testimonies of how Dad influenced so many lives. I am so thankful to hear all the kind words completing Dad's story on earth. But my greatest peace is to know that I was able to express my love to Dad before he passed into eternity.

Friday night I heard from so many people who came through the receiving line telling me about the impact my dad had on their lives. My dad had varied interests and pursued many of them. Along the way he was able to meet so many people. The one theme that many expressed to me was that my dad was extremely friendly and personable. Nat and I were talking about my dad last night and he mentioned the first time he talked with my dad was when he took a box of some of my things over to my parents after he returned from Thailand (about two weeks before I moved home from my year long stay there). My dad was sitting outside when Nat drove up and began chatting with Nat right away.

Of course my dad really knew how to talk, as I'm sure many remember!  When Nat went to ask my dad if he could have my dad's permission to marry me, I think Nat was there for three hours before my dad finally said yes. :-)

We received a lot of closure with my dad's funeral.  I know several in my family have been waking up early and thinking, unable to go back to sleep.  But the healing process has begun.  My dad had an appointed time last Monday, just as the Bible says. Hebrews 9:27 ~"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:"

My dad's funeral was the best funeral I have ever attended. Nina and her sister played sweet hymns on the harp, which my dad loved. Our wonderful pastor, whom my dad really liked, preached a wonderful message on salvation. My three brothers and I each gave a testimony of my dad, and my nephew read a scripture passage from Job. I know my dad would've been very pleased with his funeral.

Nat and I cancelled the rest of our meetings (4) from the last leg of the trip we were on. We will be home until the end of May to be with my mom.  We also need to get our car fixed this week.

We weren't supposed to be home for another three weeks, but I'm really grateful to be home. What a joy to be with my family over the last several days and then to be with my church family on Sunday. Truly the Lord has been very good to me.

What If.

We've been on the road for the past two weeks "deputating" as one friend calls it. :)  So much to write and yet not enough free time to write, between taking care of a newborn and living in the moment.

We're currently in Fort Worth, Texas at a missions conference that has been very uplifting and convicting.  One thing stood out to me that wasn't during a preaching time or even a teaching session and yet it was so impacting.  During one of the "comments time" a pastor from Louisiana asked a veteran missionary about the man who led him to the Lord.  Now this veteran missionary, Milton Martin, is over 80 years old and has been a missionary to Mexico since somewhere around 1960.  Bro. Martin said the man who led him to the Lord was praying some 28 years before Bro. Martin's salvation and put his finger on a map of Texas and asked the Lord for a soul in that state.  Bro. Martin then said these words: "I was that soul."

I don't know if anyone else in the room got chills like I did when he said that, but I was thinking about the impact Bro. Martin has had on countless people around this world. Literally. But I thought about that man who came before Bro. Martin and was faithful in praying for lost souls and then witnessing to those souls.  What if that man hadn't prayed? What if that man hadn't been specific in praying for a soul in Texas? What if he hadn't opened his mouth to speak of Jesus? What if he was intent on doing his own thing rather than God's plan?  What if?

While I understand God will use someone else if they're more willing than you, I also know that Bro. Martin's impact on the people of Mexico can't be denied. In addition to the people of Mexico, there are plenty of pastors, missionaries, evangelists, Bible Institute students, etc. that have been impacted by Bro. Martin's ministry.

Nat and I personally have been impacted by his ministry.  In fact, Bro. Martin's the one who challenged Nat with the principles of missions and is the human instrument God used to put Nat into the ministry.  My heart was stirred when Bro. Martin preached a conference in 2006 and that set in motion the idea of me going to Thailand to help with missionaries.

But I think of the man who came before Bro. Martin and realize that his reward in heaven will be great because of being faithful.  What a legacy!  What a challenge to me.

It's funny what the Lord will use to teach me. In this instance, it was just an old preacher from Louisiana asking an old missionary to Mexico what an even older man did for the Lord.

Eviction Time.

Sometimes our ways just aren't God's ways. And I'm really grateful for that!

Our little Peanut was due almost two weeks ago... but that just wasn't God's way or timing. Now that I'm coming to the end of that two week waiting period, I can look back and see how the Lord's timing once again worked out.

Our local fair was all last week and Nat and I were hoping to be a part of that since our church was having a booth at the fair. I got to go up twice and he got to go three times and we were able to talk to several people about what the Bible really has to say about missing the mark with God. Now that wouldn't have worked out so well if we were having a baby, right?

In addition to participating at the fair, Nat was able to spend three different occasions with a man who is dying of several types of cancer... and this man had questions about eternity. In one short week, this man's health quickly declined. I'm thankful for a husband who is sensitive to eternity's values. I doubt Nat would've been able to spend all that time with this dying man if we were in the hospital. Hmm.

My heart was also encouraged and refreshed from the Sunday morning at church. My small group discussion was very uplifting, the song service put my focus back on the Lord (after all, how do you think about yourself when you're singing, "Crown Him Lord of All"?), and the message reminded me to have my delight on the Lord. If Peanut had come last week, I would've missed the service Sunday morning.

So the Lord really knows. Whether I remember the fact that He knows or not is another thing! But His timing is perfect.

Tomorrow morning we're planning on going to the hospital and inducing this baby. I'm still praying that I go into labor on my own tonight, but that just might not be God's will. He's given me several reminders recently that His thoughts and plans are higher than my own and I take comfort in the fact that He is in control.

I also take comfort in the fact that no one has been pregnant for ever, so this baby is coming!

The Party That Wasn't.

A couple of weeks ago, Nat told me he would be going away for a planning retreat with some staff members on Thursday into Friday. Immediately I began to think about my husband being gone for 24ish hours. Now I realize this happens to lots of people all the time, but you must forgive me for being wistful over my husband leaving - we've only been married 5 months. :)

I had been tossing around the idea of having some girls over and realized this would be the perfect time: girls over while hubby's gone without me having to kick hubby out. Sounded good to me! I knew that Thursday night is a strange time to have a girls' night, but I was working with what I had. Of course several girls had to work or couldn't make it, so I was planning for 8 girls and even chatted with several of the girls on Wednesday night.

Now the one thing I hadn't planned on was being sick... all week long. In the back of my mind, I was just going to get better and never actually thought of the alternative. Thursday morning rolled around and I felt like getting up took a huge amount of work. When Nat came home for lunch, I asked him what I should do. Being the great guy that he is, he knew I wanted to have these girls over so he was trying to make it work for me.... but reality settled in and I knew I couldn't do it and so did he.

I sent texts and facebook messages to my friends cancelling the party, slept some, bid a good-bye to my husband (yes there were a few tears), slept some more, read some.... ding dong.

My friend stood on the other side of the door with a cheerful rendition of "we wish you a merry Christmas!" while I felt bad because she didn't get my message. She understood though and we parted ways.

I went back to my place on the couch and within ten minutes.... ding dong. Oh no! That made two friends who didn't get the message about the cancelled party. This friend actually came up and visited for 15 minutes. I had to laugh when she said she didn't get my text. Here I actually sent a text to her mom's home phone number... whoops! She also called a third friend to let her know about the party. By this time I'm realizing the unreliability of facebook messaging. :)

In a way, it worked out not having the party Thursday night. I crashed on the couch trying to feel better and thinking about the irony of not wanting to be alone the first time my husband goes away and yet finding myself in that very position anyway. :) God has a sense of humor!

My husband comes home today (yay!) and the party will be had .... another day!

*The* Story.

When people asked me where we were going on vacation, I always managed to confuse people with the answer: Indiana, Wisconsin, and Texas. Most people followed the whole Indiana/Wisconsin concept, but Texas normally brought about a "whaaa?" moment. Naturally:o).

My in-laws live in Texas as well as some good friends of ours, so we decided to go now to do our holiday visiting, rather than during the actual holidays. Working at a bakery doesn't allow a lot of wiggle room for trips in the midst of the busiest time of the year!

We chose to make the 11 hour drive to Indiana to spend time with my brother and his family, drove the 3 hours to Wisconsin to spend the day with Nat's brother and his wife and also a college friend of mine, drove back to Indiana, and then flew to Texas. We were going to take our car to the airport, but then decided my brother or his wife could use it while we were gone so we left it at their house. My sweet sister-in-law dutifully drove the hour to Chicago Midway Airport to drop us off and wished us a happy time in Texas. At least I think she did. Since this took place at the crazy hour of 7 AM, I was barely functioning:o).

We did have a happy time in Texas (for those of you who were wondering) and we were finishing out our trip with a missionary friend of ours in Fort Worth when we got a phone call. My brother very nonchalantly asked me when our flight returned to Chicago and then asked me if I wanted to talk to my sister-in-law. When she got on the phone, her voice was raspy and muddled. She proceeded to tell me she just had a surgery because there was an accident, but I must admit the first thing I said was, "No way! You're joking with me... quit it!" She tends to be a prankster:o).

She actually wasn't though (surprise!) and when my brother got back on the phone, I asked him what in the world happened. He replied, "it's complicated... there was a car accident in the driveway. I'll tell you tomorrow." Uh-oh. I got off the phone and told Nat I just had this feeling our car was involved with her accident.

When *the* story finally came out, it was quite *the* story. Now my brother has to be the most laid-back man in the world, because he didn't seem fazed at all. I know that's not really true deep down inside, but there wasn't a frazzled reaction on the outside at all! But back to *the* story. My sister-in-law had used our car Wednesday morning, but left a light on so that drained the battery. That afternoon she was going to take her son out to eat but had to first jump our car with her car (which my niece had to use to get to work). Since the battery in her car is in the back, she told her son to back her car up to our car to jump it. Meanwhile she spotted something in the backseat of our car and went to quick grab it. As she leaned half-way into the car (with the door open), my nephew backed up her car and hit our car door. The car door closed in on her leg, but of course he had no idea. All he was thinking was, "Oh man, I'm in big trouble" so he just sat there. That whole time the car door was on her leg and she was praying for him to pull forward. After 15 seconds he finally did, much to her relief!

Her leg instantly swelled up into what looked like a drumstick around her calf to her ankle. If it had been any higher, it would've severed it off (details I'm sure you're glad I'm sharing!) or even cut off the main artery that would've killed her. As it was, she went through surgery on her leg, hoping to relieve a big chunk of pressure. There was still the possibility of amputation if infection set in, but we are so grateful that was not the case!

The doctor is giving her a 3-month recovery period, which is a long time to not walk. But that's a better option compared to not being able to walk ever again!

Obviously our main concern was making sure she was going to be alright. Once we were fairly certain she was, we looked into fixing our door. While not the biggest deal at the moment, it would've made the 11 hour trip home windy, to say the least! The bottom part was bent at a weird angle (thank you leg), so Nat got on the phone to see if he could find a replacement door. He knew the salvage place here in PA didn't have any parts for our car, but the Lord directed him to the right salvage place out in Indiana who had a matching door! Saturday morning Nat and my nephew spent a couple of hours putting the door on and we left soon after to return to Pennsylvania, minus the wind blowing through:o). Isn't God good???

Soon after my brother told us about the accident, Nat and I had a couple of minutes to ourselves. He instantly said it was no use playing the "what if....?" game ("what if we had taken our car to the airport?"). Instead we started to pray. Pray for those involved and for issues that God was dealing with. Would I choose to have this situation play out again? If God would get the glory, then yes! We serve such a mighty God Who knows all things and I'm excited to see what He is going to do through this situation!!!

What A Weekend!

I may be very biased, but I believe I am a part of the best church in the world! This past weekend was one to be tucked away into the memory box, to be pulled out time and time again in the future.

Friday night I got in on the tail end of the prep work for the appreciation banquet for my pastor, but I'm so glad I did! What a blessing to look around and see ladies I dearly love helping to pull this banquet together. Banquets are a lot of work because that means transforming our auditorium into a banquet hall. I think the results were absolutely beautiful:

While no one person can take the credit for this banquet, it helped to have a very organized lady in charge of the decorations:).

Loved the centerpieces!

Seeing all these pies brought back memories from my wedding three months ago... thankfully all the church ladies pitched in and brought a pie:).

Sunday was just an all-around terrific day. I started a new motivational program in my Sunday School class, the choir sang a song that I just couldn't get out of my head all week ("Hallelujah, 'Tis Done!"), Pastor Roland preached a thought-provoking message on the last statement Jesus made on the cross - "It Is Finished" - and of course there was the "Light the World" sending service at night.

Pastor Roland started with Adam and Eve and how sin plunged the whole world into darkness. Of course our entire auditorium went dark at that point. Pastor then started walking through the patriarchs, the judges, prophets, etc. and lit a match for each one. But the match only burned for a little while before it went out. When Pastor Roland came to Jesus, he light a center candle and from there lit candles for the church at Jerusalem, the church at Antioch, and so on. It's so neat to be able to trace my church's history back to Welsh Christians who came and settled in the Philadelphia region.

Anyway, from there Pastor Roland went through all the missionaries my church supports, including the families sent from my church. Each teen from the youth group had a candle that represented a certain missionary and walked to different parts of the auditorium with their candle burning. I always get the shivers when I look around the room and see so many teens holding candles. But then comes the reminder that there is still much darkness that needs light shed upon it.

The final candle of the evening was lit by Pastor-now-missionary Doug Hammett and his wife. We as a church are so excited for them as the follow the Lord's leading!

Good-byes must always be said though, and my church family did that very thing! I must say one of the many good things about sitting so close to the front is I got to get up there and say my good-byes right away:).

They head out Tuesday for the mission field of Botswana!!!

Hi, I'm Still Here:).

Hubby is currently sleeping (as are most of the people on the East Coast at this time of the night!), but I kick in with my second wind right about now and thought a blog post just might be in order.

But first, I realized I only posted one wedding picture soooo.... here are a couple more:

After the ceremony was over, Nat and I headed out to a local park and had some pictures taken. Our photographer did an amazing job and we like the fact that this park is close enough for us to visit often.... like we did tonight when we had a little picnic:).

Hmm, methinks that last picture needs a tad bit of explaining. I find it extremely ironic and humorous that the only time I cried on my wedding day was right here (or is it right there since it's not here anymore? Anyway.) This lady is such a dear friend of mine and not only drove the 13 hours from Muddy Pond, Tennessee (yes that's the name!), but also agreed to greet people on our wedding day. As soon as I came up from downstairs and saw her, I just lost it.... as did she. We're both crying while we wonder why we always cry when we see each other. It's hard to explain, but 'tis true!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Life has been wonderfully busy... setting up our new apartment; packing up stuff from my parents house (Goodwill is going to benefit!); working busy hours; having my first visitor over for lunch; spending time with the dearest man on earth; writing thank you notes....

Oh the thank you notes. I feel as if paper and pen fail in verbalizing our thanks. I suppose if I really considered it, it's not the paper or pen expressing our thanks, it's our words. But how do you squeeze into one note the fact that you really do appreciate the gift of ________ and are thankful time was spent in coming to the wedding?

Or to my wonderful co-workers who not only gave me the time off of work (3 weeks), but also provided pies, a large cookie tray, and chafing pans/dishes to hold our reception food. In addition to that, the were so gracious to give four large gifts, including a beautiful red Kitchen Aid mixer.

What about the dear, dear church family we are so blessed with who jumped in with both feet and enthusiastically and cheerfully helped out where needed? I've come to the conclusion that it is impossible to say "thank you" on paper only; it must be lived out and in some cases paid forward, so to speak.

Simply put, we've been blessed.

A few people asked after we returned from our honeymoon if we still needed anything. Need? In a word, no.

We've been blessed.

No Wedding Woes - Only A Choice To Rejoice!

This morning I read this verse, not realizing how much I would need it for today:

"He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." ~ Psalm 126:6

Last Thursday I finally decided to take my winter coat to a local dry cleaners and grabbed Nat's wedding suit as well, since it needed to be dry cleaned. I've used this particular cleaner before, so the thought didn't really occur to me to go anywhere else. Actually it did because I had a coupon for another dry cleaners, but that was 20 minutes away and I didn't figure the discount was worth it. So I went to the cleaners, turned in my coat and Nat's suit, and the lady cheerfully gave me my slip with the pick-up day for Wednesday.

Sunday night I had just gotten to bed around midnight when I heard sirens go screaming by for a couple of moments. I genuinely thought maybe someone had gotten hurt shooting off fireworks and was being rushed to the hospital, but that wasn't the case. When I was reading the news on Monday morning, a particular article caught my attention: Fire in Emmaus Strip Mall. My heart jumped into my throat as I read the article and realized the fire started in the very dry cleaner shop I took Nat's suit and my coat to. Trying to be calm and not jump to conclusions, I thought perhaps it wasn't as extensive as the article made it out to be. I called Nat and mentioned the possibility of there being issues with our stuff, but we figured we had to wait to find out for sure because the holiday was still being celebrated.

After trying several times this morning, Nat was finally able to get through to the cleaners and the confirmation was in: everything was completely destroyed. Nat's tailor-made suit from Thailand -- his wedding day suit -- was no longer available.

As the news slowly sank into my disbelieving head, my ever-logical sweetie calmly stated he was going to implement Plan B: go look for a new one and keep his eyes open for divine appointments. It was firmly established in both of our minds that this was no mistake and God was going to use this mishap to get some precious seed out to someone!

Nat returned this evening with the report that no less than three people were those someones!!! As he explained about his adventures to the mall and talking to these three people, my mind drifted back to the verse I read this morning and I realized sometimes the Lord reminds me in a very clear way that there can never be a price tag put on getting some seed to a lost person.

This all might sound very trite and nonspiritual, but the tug of sentimentality can be a bit strong at times. We happened to be very partial to our clothing items, but when I put it all into perspective, I know Nat and I will be married regardless of whether he wore a tailor-made-in-Thailand-just-for-him suit or a JC Penny special.

In addition to growing in grace over suit situations, I've spent the day and now the wee hours of Wednesday morning making pie shells and baking!

I've chosen to have pies and other desserts served at the reception, rather than a huge wedding cake so of course that meant making them all:). In between all the rolling of pie dough, some family members wandered in to stay for several days, so I decided I would rather finish all my baking tonight while it wasn't in the triple digits weather-wise and no little kiddos underfoot:). The last batch is in the oven, 8 apple pies have been delegated to two of my bridesmaids, and that leaves me with 6 more to make on Friday. Overall I feel as if I haven't put too much stress on myself and now I can enjoy time with my family before the big day comes on Saturday!

Only 3 more days:).

Starving: It's A Good Thing.

Years ago my pastor's wife did a Bible Study with the single girls using the book Lies Women Believe and I remember walking away from that study thinking how easy it is for me to be duped into believing a lie. Profound I know, but so true!

I still think about that study, especially when I blunder and make a wrong choice. I want to kick myself as I wonder, "Now why did I respond to that situation like that? I know better and I thought I got the victory over it the last time." Giving in to the flesh is temporarily satisfying, but never brings true contentment. I have to make a conscious choice to listen to truth, rather than believing lies.

I'm in a rather contemplative mood as I think about a Bible study Nat and I did for marriage counseling. As a quick aside, I strongly recommend marriage counseling before the wedding bells toll! Nat and I have tremendously enjoyed it and have learned so much from our sessions with Pastor Roland. Ok, commercial over.... back to our study:). This one is on communication and many of the questions have really made us think! Standard Sunday School answers don't cut it and I've been forced out of my comfort zone of logically and methodically working my way through easy-to-answer questions. In truth, I have to think of scenarios and situations in our future that have yet to happen. Tough stuff. My personality is the type to sit there and say, "Well I don't know what's going to happen or how I'm going to respond so how am I supposed to answer this question!"

This is where it's so foundational to know what God's Word says and to combat the lies of the devil with the truth of God's Word. My marriage depends upon it. Obviously communication plays such a huge role in relationships and if I'm not careful, I'm going to feed a lie instead of starving it to death. I choose life - for truth, that is!

Just some late night musings from a girl who is looking forward to becoming the wife of a wonderful, godly man in 87.1 days... of course the .1 represents the rest of this day:).

A Time To Pause And Reflect.

In reading a dear missionary friend's blog this morning, I paused for a moment over the last paragraph:

Right now, as I sit here at my desk, it seems like we never left here 5 months ago. Our lives are truly like a vapor that appear for a little time and then pass away. Our days are flying by swiftly and there is much work left to do. Pray that our strength holds and that we are able to finish the job that the Lord gave us to do. To all of you that we left behind, we love you and we miss you. Leaving all of you is the hardest part of being here.

There is much work left to do. Life is a vapor and the days fly be so swiftly. These thoughts coupled with a message my pastor preached yesterday morning have left me in a reflective and contemplative mood.

My pastor preached on the feeding of the 5,000 men (plus women and children!) and offered an illustration of how the fish and loaves were multiplied. I think Pastor was right when he said that Jesus didn't multiply the food as the baskets got passed from row to row, but rather as the disciples handed out the food and saw their supply diminishing in the basket. As they reached in the basket and pulled out the last loaf of bread, I'm sure they saw the multitude of people before them and the enormity of the situation. But as my pastor vividly portrayed, all they had to do was turn around and return to Jesus and He would supply them with more food. That's the way He operates, isn't it? He doesn't meet the entire need (whatever it is) all at once, because self-reliance and self-dependence are characteristics we tend to fall back on too easily. How quick we say, "Oh I can handle this!" but when faced with something we can't handle, that's when the problem becomes BIG. The promise of "nothing is impossible with God" is still in His Word and one I can claim!

When I bring these thoughts over into the realm of what my friend was talking about, I know that there is still work to do for the Master because the harvest of souls has not yet been brought in. I tend to get antsy at times in regards to returning to the foreign mission field. I'm ready to go now, or so I think. My days fly by so quickly and I wonder that oft-asked question, "Where has the time gone?" Before I rush ahead of the Lord and hop the next plane destined for Southeast Asia, I remember where He has put me right now. I get to work at a bakery and interact with my dear co-workers, all the while praying for them. Each Wednesday I get to invest time in my precious nephew and niece. My favorite time of each day is when Nat and I get together -- in person or over the phone -- and pray: for people we know who are without Christ, for struggling Christians, for missionaries over the world, for family and friends.

Right now several men from my church are in the country of Chile helping out two missionary families from my church. These men arrived in Chile before the earthquake hit, and now have unforeseen ministry opportunities! Although we're not there with them, my church family has the blessed privilege of upholding in prayer these men and ministry opportunities.

Time is so short and there is much work left to do. But the same God who took 5 loaves and 2 fishes and feed over 5,000 people is still in control today!

Truly There Is A Sweet And Blessed Story.

I wrote about it last year.

And the year before.

And in 2007 with a snowy adventure thrown in for good measure.

But no matter how many times I've written about it, there is always a freshness -- a newness -- about each January 25th. I praise the Lord that 12 years ago today He lifted me up from the miry clay and set me free!

The song below has been floating through my mind this evening and I thought I would jot down a couple of the verses. I trust this will be a blessing to you as it has been to me!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There's a sweet and blessed story

Of the Christ Who came from glory

Just to rescue me, from sin and misery.

He in lovingkindness sought me,

And from sin and shame hath brought me.

Hallelujah! Jesus ransomed me.

Chorus: Hallelujah, what a Savior,

Who can take a poor lost sinner,

Lift him from the miry clay and set him free!

I will ever tell the story,

Shouting, "Glory, glory, glory!"

Hallelujah! Jesus ransomed me!

From the depth of sin and sadness

To the heights of joy and gladness

Jesus lifted me, in mercy full and free.

With His precious blood He bought me;

When I knew Him not, He sought me,

And in love divine He ransomed me.

Just A Minute... Definitely Worth It!

For Christmas my future mother-in-law gave me a book entitled, "Come Away My Beloved" - 365 one-minute meditations. Now I will admit that I'm usually not very good at keeping up with a year-long devotional book, but so far I've made it 8 days!

The entry for January 4th made me stop as I considered the challenge issued. Here's the brief entry:

"And he said, Take... thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah: and offer him there." ~ Genesis 22:2

No price is too great to pay for the proper care of that which I have given you. Never regard lightly that which is precious in My sight. There is always an alternative to the life of relinquishment, but it is lean and barren. That which is most precious needs to be offered up to Me continually. My grace is as a beacon. It shall shed light on all that is now obscure.

A Visual Reminder.

"Lord, give me a vision on my heart....

So I can see a dying world, the way You saw it that day.

Give me tears that like your blood flow freely to the ground.

Without a vision, souls will perish and guilty I'll be found."

"Where there is no vision, the people PERISH"

~ Proverbs 29:18 ~

The Prequel:).

(I have started this post three times now, intending to post it since Saturday! Sorry for the delay:D)

Thank you all so much for your sweet comments! Between blog comments, e-mails, facebook comments, and phone calls, my week has been rather umm, busy, responding to people:). I have been so amazed by the way the Lord put Nat and I together, and then I was overwhelmed by everyone offering congratulations! Quite literally, people across the country have joined in with us in celebrating. Of course, many of those people added the little "I knew it!" or "I was praying for you two to get together!" phrases:).

Before I get to our story though, I want to give a little background in getting to this point. In fact, our story won't even make it into today's post! I guess this is just a teaser to have y'all tune in next time;0).

It is always a choice to follow the Lord when He leads. After being in a very unsatisfying dating relationship at age 15, I determined before the Lord that I would not date around to find the right guy for me. It just wasn't worth it and the Lord showed me from His Word that it was my choice ~in fact, my responsibility ~ to keep my heart with all diligence (Proverbs 4:23). Easy to say, hard to do!

With good intentions firmly tucked in my mind, I embarked on this journey of keeping my heart. Isn't it true that when you determine to do good, the carrot is dangled in front of you to do something that seems to be good, but in reality is second-best? I had that happen to me - quite unintentionally, I assure you! One of the girls at church got engaged at 18 and suddenly the rest of us girls between 14-17 all thought that was going to happen to us:). Girls are funny creatures and once an idea gets established in their minds, there is no shaking them out of it!

My expectation at 18 was to "flip the tassel and say I do." My graduation from high school came and went, as did my 19th and 20th years. Somewhere between my 20th and 21st year, it dawned on me that I was not fulfilling God's purpose in my life by just sitting around and waiting for Prince Charming to come sweeping in on a white horse and carry me off into the sunset. (Where do these ideas get churned up anyway?!?)

It was at that point that I took the advice a dear friend had given to me two years previously on my graduation day: use my season of singleness to serve the Lord and not waste it. I look back with much regret on my first two years out of high school, for I feel I squandered so much time that could have been wisely spent in deeper service to my King.

As a side note, if there is any advice I could pass on to girls just graduating from high school it would be the same advice my friend gave me: use your season of singleness for the Lord; you won't regret it!

I must say that advice was very liberating for me as I begun to apply it to my life. This advice was in keeping with the truth found in 1 Corinthians 7:34 ~ "The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord..." From that point on, I made it my priority to serve those around me and in doing so, I was able to experience so many new and wonderful things.

I was also able to take several short-term missions trips and this would be something I highly recommend to single gals. Do it while you can! If God gives you the burden to go, He will provide the rest. As a friend of mine likes to say, "God's not broke!" It's so much fun to step out and watch the Lord pull all the details together for whatever it is the Lord has given you the desire to do.

There is so much more I could write, but I won't:). Hopefully within the next few days (hmm, maybe I better say within the next week:D) I'll be able to post the rest of the story!

Praise And Thanksgiving.

It's been a good day. I've been amazed -- once again! -- by the mercies of God. Isn't He good? His timing is just right -- as always -- and He worked out something that I never even thought of as a possibility. Without going into details, I just wanted to take this opportunity to praise the Lord for His great faithfulness and love.

Today was also a good day because of being in the house of God. It's Mother's Day in Thailand and I was so blessed by the way the Thai people honored their moms. As I listened to their testimonies (translated into English!), I began to cry as I thought about my mom and what she means to me.

• She loves God. I couldn't ask for anything else! My mom has been so faithful to the Lord since she became a Christian and has the testimony of being a faithful prayer warrior. Several times throughout the day, I would glance into our sitting room and see my mom kneeling at a chair as she brings before the Lord her husband, children, grandchildren, other relatives, expectant ladies, church family, missionary requests, special outreaches, and a host of other things. I've prayed for someone/something and then stopped after a couple of days, while my mom has prayed over the same request for months on end.
• She loves me. My mom once told me, "Anne, I've given you to the Lord." Love is the reason behind that statement. I know my mom loves me, and every good-bye we say is completed with a "Be careful, I love you." I also know she loves me because she hasn't tried to hold me back from following after the Lord and the path I believe He's leading me on. That is one of my greatest treasures.
• She makes me laugh. My brothers can attest to this one. We always say, "Mom is so cute because...." and then we'll relate something she did or said. Or one of my favorite "mom" quotes is: "You may be taller than me, but I'm still Mother!" Which is completely true:).
• She has endured suffering. If you know my mom at all, then you'll know life hasn't (and isn't) always been easy. I look to my mom and admire her endurance, strength, and stamina. My mom's endurance has also taught me not to complain. I do, but then I think about my mom and realize I have it easy.
• She communicates faithfully. If I haven't heard from my mom in a while, then I know there's something wrong. Whether it's a chatty e-mail filled with inconsequential details or talking with her on the phone, I know my mom will cover the bases in keeping me connected with everyone/everything I might know.
• She is considerate. I would never think to do half of what my mom does for other people: bringing a treat to her Sunday school table because it's someone's birthday, taking the time to sit down and write a letter to a missionary she's never met, getting together a little goodie bag of mints and other treats for some kids, talking to a complete stranger while out and about with my dad and finding out interesting facts about that person, driving 50 miles (one way) to pick up an older relative so she can come to a family function, taking a 1,400 mile trip over a 3-day period just to see some faraway grandkids, being sensitive to the needs of a lactose-intolerant grandson by making him his own special apple cake, preparing a special gift for my pastor's granddaughter every year because they share the same birthday and on and on I could go.

Mom, I know you will read this and I want to publicly honor you for all that you've done and all that you do for us as a family. I am so blessed that YOU are my mom and I love you very much. I haven't seen you in a year, but am so grateful for all that you've done for me, even while I've been in Thailand. I love you, Mom.

Yet Another Cultural Experience!

The Land of Smiles offers many things: good Thai food, cheap foot massages, accessible public transportation, and a host of others things.

But.

One thing it does not offer are refunds. As in may I have my money back?

Case in point - One of my co-workers was going to the mall to take care of some business for Bro. Tom, so two of us decided to send along with her two things that needed to be mailed back to the States. I gave my co-worker 200 baht (approximately $6.00) to cover a birthday package for my nephew. I figured if it was more than that, I could always send it home with Ben who is heading home next Tuesday and he could mail it.

After my co-worker mailed my package, she called me up and said it was actually 400 baht (approximately $12.00 and 200 baht more than I wanted to pay). I asked her to see if she could get the package back and waited for her to call back. She did so and said this to me: "The lady at the post office said you could have your package back, but not your money."

Umm, I'm sorry? Why in the world would I want my package back without the money? It would be like making an unnecessary donation to the postal system of Thailand. Uh, no thanks!

Another time I was shopping at Food Land (clever title for a grocery store, don't you think?) and I looked at a price wrong. I didn't realize it until after the transaction was made and so while I was still in the store, I went to the customer service desk and explained my mistake. The lady just looked at me and proceeded to explain that they couldn't give me back my money. After making a big enough fuss (I was dealing with almost $10.00), they finally told me in hush, hush terms that they were going to make one huge exception for me since they knew I came grocery shopping every week.

We've all made this mistake at one point or another and have pretty much come to terms with the fact that Thailand is good for many things, but not refunds! Apparently it's a foreign concept:).